Story highlights

An Egyptian military court sentenced a toddler to life for alleged crimes at a 2014 protest

Boy was 16 months old at the time, and the case appears to be one of mistaken identity

Uproar over the sentence led officials to assure the boy and his father they will not be arrested

Cairo (CNN)Family members of a 3-year-old Egyptian boy who was sentenced last week to life in prison say they feel relieved after receiving assurances from officials that neither the boy nor his father will be arrested.

The boy's father, Mansour Qorany Sharara, has returned to the family home in the southern Egyptian province of Fayyoum after nearly 18 months on the run. He had been avoiding authorities who had previously detained him when they came to arrest his young son.

In a surreal verdict, a military court last week found the boy, Ahmed Mansour Qorany Sharara, and 115 other people guilty of killing three people and sabotaging public and private property during a political demonstration in January 2014.

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An aide to the interior minister phoned Elebrashy's show to say it was a case of mistaken identity. The aide, Gen. Abu Bakr Abdel Karim, promised that Ahmed and his father would not be jailed.

The military released a statement the following day saying the person wanted in the case was a 16-year-old who had fled authorities, and who had the same name as Ahmed.

The assurances did not completely allay the family's fears, however.

During Sharara's interview with Elebrashy, Ahmed's mother, Hemat Mostafa, phoned the TV station to say the police had just left their home after inquiring about Ahmed and his father.

"If it is true that it was a mistaken identity, why did they come to arrest the boy? Why haven't security arrested the right defendant then?" lawyer Mahmoud Abu Kaf said to CNN.

Charges stem from pro-Morsy protest

Photos:The 2013 trial of Mohamed Morsy

Photos:The 2013 trial of Mohamed Morsy

Supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy protest his trial in front of the Supreme Constitutional Court in Cairo, Egypt, on November 4, 2013. Morsy, who was removed from office in a July 2013 coup, is charged with inciting violence over a constitution he shepherded into effect.

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Photos:The 2013 trial of Mohamed Morsy

A Morsy supporter shouts at a police officer in Cairo. More than 100 pro-Morsy demonstrators faced a cordon of security forces behind barbed wire.

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Photos:The 2013 trial of Mohamed Morsy

The demonstrators waved flags and chanted loudly against the military, which deposed Morsy. Morsy became Egypt's first freely elected president in 2012 after the overthrow of longtime strongman Hosni Mubarak. His detractors accused him of being a tyrant trying to impose conservative values, but his supporters say the coup was a power grab by the military and elements of the old Mubarak regime.

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Photos:The 2013 trial of Mohamed Morsy

This image, made from video provided by Egypt's Interior Ministry, shows Morsy speaking from the defendant's cage as he stands with co-defendants during his hearing. "I am Dr. Mohamed Morsy, the President of the republic," Morsy said. "The coup is a crime and ... treason."

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Photos:The 2013 trial of Mohamed Morsy

A police officer stands guard behind barbed wire.

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Photos:The 2013 trial of Mohamed Morsy

Morsy supporters raise a poster that reads "no to the coup" in Arabic.

"We wanted to tell the judge that these are invalid investigations and our proof is the inclusion of the child, and a man who was out of the country when the incident in question took place, among the defendants," he added.

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While the case might seem an aberration, it is evidence of a justice system that does not work, said Karim Ennarah, a criminal justice researcher.

"The main problem with that is that there are probably other cases that are not as striking where such mistakes are not corrected because you are not talking about a 2-year-old child, and the outcry is not as big -- especially if you look at the number of people who are being processed by the criminal justice system at the moment.

"I would go as far as saying it is disintegrating, the justice system," he said. "It's on the verge of complete dysfunctionality. "

He added, "It's a troubling trend and it will probably lead to just wide mistrust in the judiciary system, which has long-term effects that will be very difficult to reverse."

Mass sentencing has become common in Egyptian civilian and military courts in the wake of Morsy's ouster, drawing criticism from the United Nations and human rights groups.

In 2014, more than 1,000 people were sentenced to death in two cases involving the deaths of police officers during protests. The sentences were later reduced to life sentences for most of the defendants.

"Most cases involving big events are based on investigations and no tangible evidence. We've seen cases where defendants were either deceased years before the incident or in prison when it happened," said Abu Kaf, the lawyer.

CNN's Sarah El Sirgany reported from Cairo. CNN's Susannah Cullinane wrote from Auckland, New Zealand, and Tim Hume wrote from London.